Released August 19, 1972 Genre Country Label Mercury | Format 7" Length 2:38 | |
B-side "Every Time I Trust a Gal" | ||
"The Class of '57" is a song written by Don Reid and Harold Reid, and recorded by American country music group The Statler Brothers. It was released in August 1972 as the first single from the album Country Music Then and Now. The song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. The song was also critically acclaimed with the Statler Brothers winning the 1972 Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.
Content
The song is a sometimes nostalgic, sometimes bittersweet look back at what became of a fictional high school graduating class, which had graduated from high school 15 years earlier. In turn, each one of the four singers -- Don Reid, Phil Balsley, Lew DeWitt and Harold Reid -- takes a solo turn at reflecting on several of the classmates. Some of the tales are of professional success -- they become teachers, factory workers, grocery store owners, and at least one becomes extremely rich (the owner of a huge cattle ranch) while others are tragic -- such as a classmate who ends up in a mental institution and another who, after having his wife leave him for a richer man, ends up taking his life. Reflecting real life, the lyrics also remember classmates they've lost track of ("where Mavis finally wound up is anybody's bet").
The chorus has the underlying theme of reflecting on high hopes and dreams when they leave high school, but all of a sudden life becomes more complicated when they become adults and that, as the years passed and sometimes life didn't pan out the way they hoped, that the world would change to fit their needs.